Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke will visit southern Oregon this weekend as part of the Trump Administration’s review of national monuments designated by previous administrations.
Zinke will visit the Cascade-Siskiyou National Monument, that straddles the Oregon/California border near Ashland. The monument was originally proclaimed by President Bill Clinton. At the recommendation of a science panel, President Barack Obama in January nearly doubled the size of the monument, to more than 113,000 acres.
Ranchers, timber interests and some local governments objected, saying federal management would hurt them economically. In April, President Donald Trump ordered a review of national monuments designated or expanded since 1996, to end what he called, “a massive federal land grab.”
Zinke will tour the monument and meet with stakeholders, including Oregon governor Kate Brown.
Earlier this week, Zinke announced he would recommend no changes to Washington’s Hanford Reach monument – created in 2000 -- and the Craters of the Moon monument in Idaho, which was expanded in 2000.